


Double Check

by Demerite



Series: Trektober 2019 [11]
Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Comedy, M/M, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-09 02:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20987660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demerite/pseuds/Demerite
Summary: Sharing clothes is a cute idea in theory - but only if it's intentional.





	Double Check

**Author's Note:**

> For the Wildcard Prompt: Clothes Sharing, for Day 12.

Ash holds his breath and punches in the code. He tells himself it's not because he's worried that it won't work this time. He knows that's a stupid thing to worry about it. If Chris was going to break up with him, he wouldn't do it by changing the door codes. That's not him at all. 

He needn't have worried. The door to Chris' quarters slides open, the lights coming up in front of him, and Ash steps inside. As the door closes behind him, he lets out a long, slow sigh of relief, letting the tension of a long, _long _shift drain out of him. Chris isn't back yet, it'll probably be another hour or so before he's done with the business of shift changeover and report writing and the million other things a captain has to do, but he'd asked if Ash wanted to come over, and said he'd see him as soon as he was done. 

Ash is still getting used to coming back to Chris' quarters without him at the end of a shift. It still feels a little strange to be in his space without him. The first few times, he'd felt like he was trespassing, and that someone was going to leap out at any moment to drag him away. Of course, that never happened, so now the strangeness is more to do with the fact that this _feels _like Chris' space, but without Chris in it, it feels empty as well. 

Ash takes off his boots and his uniform jacket, leaves them neatly by the bed. He makes his way over to the couch by the window. There's a PADD of his left on the little table next to the couch, and he settles onto the cushions and picks it up. He was a report to write for Section 31, but he really can't be bothered with it right now. The longer he spends here, the less loyalty he has towards them. 

Ash doesn't realise he's drifted off the sleep until the door whooshes open again, and then he wakes with a start, the PADD slipping from his grasp and down onto the decking. But the intrusion is only Chris, looking tired and irritated until he sees Ash, whereupon a warm smile breaks over his face. 

"Hey." Ash gets up from the couch, crosses the cabin to him, but stops a pace away, in case his presence isn't welcome after all. 

He needn't have worried. Chris steps forward to bridge the gap between them, leaning heavily against Ash, his forehead pressing into his shoulder with a sigh. 

Ash lest his arms bracket him, holding him close. "Long day?" He asks, and Chris makes a cranky mumbling noise that might be an agreement or might be cursing. It's hard to tell, with the words muffled in Ash's shirt. They just stand there for a little bit, Ash accustomed to Chris' tactility, especially after a long, trying day. He doesn't mind it. It's not as if he gets a lot of excuses for physical contact with anyone else. Not that he'd want it. 

"Hey," Chris says eventually, still leaning against Ash's shoulder. 

Ash pulls back to look at him, gets a tired smile in return, and he feels like if he doesn't do something, he's going to explode with all the unvoiced feelings he has for the incredible, impossible man in his arms, so he kisses him, slow and gentle and deep, and he feels like he might combust at the needy little noise Chris lets slip out of him. 

They stumble towards the bed, lost on each other, almost tripping because neither of them wants to let go of the other for more than a second. The backs of Ash's legs his the mattress and he sits, only for Chris to not follow him down immediately. 

Chris hovers above him for a moment, then his hand rises to his chest, and he removes his captain's insignia and places it aside. 

That's become somewhat of a _thing _for them. 

Chris refuses to even tough Ash when they're still wearing that particular indication of rank. He'd explained it to Ash once, that it symbolises the idea that there's an imbalance of power between them as people even when they're not on-duty. He'd admitted that he's terrified that once day, Ash might take something he asks of him here to be an order, and feel like he has to obey. Chris has never wanted that. So the insignia - both of theirs, not just Chris' - always come off before anything starts. 

Ash sees the gesture for what it is tonight - a question, a request. He nods, and reaches up for Chris, pulling him down into his arms. 

~*~

The blare of the red alert pulls him from sleep, and Chris is upright before he really knows what's going on, grabbing for his uniform trousers and dragging them on even as Saru is explaining the situation to him via comm. Chris swears viciously, casts around for his uniform jacket - no time to replicate a new one, last night's should still be clean - catches sight of dark fabric and a metallic glint by the foot of the bed, drags the jacket on and it out the door with his insignia still in hand before Ash even has his boots on. 

He makes it from his quarters to the Bridge in what has to be some kind of Starfleet records, and Saru turns command over to him without a word to his dishevelled state, quickly bringing him up to speed with the situation - although the ship in front of them and a few degrees to starboard with its weapons locked onto them gives him a pretty good idea of what's going on. Chris calls for comms to hail them, and spends the next twenty-five minutes in _very _tense negotiation with the aggressing ship's captain. 

Somewhere around minute four, he hears the turbolift doors opens and close, and when he looks to the reflection of the bridge in the viewscreen, he sees Ash standing at alert a little ways behind him. His presence probably shouldn't bring Chris a sense of comfort, but it does. 

Two minutes after Ash steps onto the Bridge, Admiral Cornwell arrives, and stands silently on Chris' left, a few paces back, watching, but letting him handle the situation. And handle it he does. He negotiates a ceasefire before the first shot, and the moment the connection is closed, he slumps back into the chair with a sigh, cancelling the red alert with a command. 

Admiral Cornwell approaches. There's an amused look in her eyes. 

"Nicely handled. Not sure I could have managed that." She says, and he nods his thanks. "You might wanna get a bit more rest." She tells him, "And take Tyler back with you." 

"Admiral?" Chris asks, although he already knows it's too late. He's never been that good at playing dumb, and she has that smile that has never boded well the entire time he's known her. 

"Don't give me that." She says. "Go get some sleep, and change your damn shirt." 

Chris looks down at his shirt, notes the panels on the sides are ops bronze, not command gold, and very quietly starts swearing. 

He doesn't stop until he's made it back to his quarters. Ash, a few paces behind him, is entirely too amused by the whole situation. He's still laughing when Chris drags him inside and presses him back against the closed door to kiss the smug look off his face. 

**Author's Note:**

> Want to know more about Trektober? Click [HERE](https://aishahiwatari.tumblr.com/post/188059640163/trektober) for the info post on Aisha's tumblr, or [HERE](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Trektober2019) for the AO3 collection to read our fic. 
> 
> Come yell at me on [Tumblr](https://demerite.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
